An Eternal Pairing

Dante stood puzzled. He’d been fidgeting with the dials and buttons on the control panel for some time, yet he couldn’t figure out where he was.

“Where is all my data output?” he mused aloud to no one in particular.

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“A cappuccino and a croissant.” Arden checked her watch absentmindedly, this coffee shop had been around since the early 1800’s and it always felt warm and homelike to her, no matter the decade.

She sat with her ticket at a small corner table and flipped through the clippings of periodicals and newspapers she’d been collecting over the years. She organized them according to date first and topic second as a man placed her order down on the table in front of her.

Gesturing to the papers she had laid about in front of her, Arden looked up with large eyes “do these tell you the story of the past decade or so?”

“Gold melting in the sun” the waiter thought as he looked into her eyes. He didn’t understand what she said, but he was mesmerized by her. He nodded and gave her a kind smile. Arden went back to working on her clippings.

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Growing frustrated with his machinery, Dante fumbled around for his glasses and grabbed his bag. He opened the door and walked out into the deep recesses of the Paris Metro. No matter the distance in time between visits, it always had the same odd smell and buzz. Dante walked up the stairs, rounded the corner, and down another set of stairs. He’d have to take the metro a few stops before he could leave.

Reaching into his pocket, Dante found a few coins and tossed one to the violinist on his way out of the Metro. Picking up speed, he jogged across the street towards a little café. He was never in a rush, but he also didn’t like the feeling that people were ever waiting for him. This wasn’t exactly the case, but Dante had a standing date and was already frustrated with how his day had started, he couldn’t be late. Not even to a date that didn’t exist.

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Trailing her fingers over the rust-colored strands of her braid, Arden glanced over and saw a familiar figure approaching from the street. She smiled fondly as their eyes met from afar, and she began stacking all the clippings together again. Dante entered the café and walked over to her, embracing her is a familiar way. She gestured for him to sit, and he placed his bag on the floor before pulling out her seat and then taking his own.

“I’m so sorry for making you wait, I couldn’t get a read on my screen and I had no idea when it was,” Dante explained with sadness and frustration in his voice.

“Dear boy”, she said straightening out her pale-yellow dress before fixing her hands on her lap waiting for him to meet her gaze. “You’re never late. I have all the time in the world, quite literally as you know, and I’ve agreed to meet you whenever the time may be.”

Forming a weak half smile, he reached for his bag. “You cannot possibly know how helpful you’ve been over all these years. I don’t know how I’d ever have been able to get this far and obtain all of the understandings and minor differences needed to succeed without you. I still don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.” Dante pulled a leather-bound notebook out from a pocket in his bag, it was beaten and worn but the inscription on the black cover could still barely be made out “the history of everything”.

Arden passed Dante the clippings, “this is everything from the past 15 years or so.” She glanced over his book, “You know you don’t need me anymore. There’s nothing but information all around you now, at the touch of your fingertips. You can find all the events and updates you’d want or need in an instant. No amount of time travel is going to stop you from assimilating any longer. The world is at your fingertips now.”

“It’s so much more than just information, I’ve grown quite fond of having a friend no matter when I am.” Dante sighed, I’ve lost almost all my family over the years. I have grandchildren left, but they’re my age now. Travelling the timeline has opened my experiences to so much, but over time it’s lost me my family. You may lose me one day, but I’ll never lose you and that’s one comfort I really can’t risk losing, Arden.”

“Dante Dear, in the beginning we were paired to help your kind, but with the age of information, most timeline voyagers have left their immortals. You don’t fear being left behind, or feel you’ll be missing something by maintaining this pairing?”

“Arden, I could never regret maintaining this, and it’s not just a pairing, it’s a friendship as old as time. You have helped me with every time jump, I’ve never missed a beat, a historical event, a scientific discovery, or a great new movie because I can depend on you. You’ve been there to help me with all of it. There’s no way I could risk losing a friend to gain instant knowledge. You are my first and last true friend.”